Category Archives: Senator Blutarsky

Prominent Christian and Jewish leaders are warning the U.S. Supreme Court justices in a full-page ad in major newspapers that they will not honor any decision that violates the “biblical understanding of marriage as solely the union of one man and one woman.”

The statement by the leaders — who include Franklin Graham, James Dobson, Frank Pavone, Don Wildmon, Jerry Boykin, Alveda King and Alan Keyes — appears in a full-page ad in the Washington Post, USA Today and other papers.

June 12, 2015 (Arlington, Texas) – Parker County Judge Mark Riley was elected chair of the Regional Transportation Council on Thursday and will lead the 44-member transportation policymaking body for the next year.

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Riley, who has served as vice chair for the past year, replaces Dallas County Commissioner Mike Cantrell, whose one-year term has expired. Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen was named vice chair, and Cedar Hill Mayor Rob Franke is the new secretary.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has announced there will be a vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), H.R.1314, also called fast-track,THIS FRIDAY. Fast-track authority is essential for the future passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive international trade deal involving twelve countries.

Members of Congress are told that fast-track will allow them to influence what’s in the TPP, but the deal has already been in the works for six years. They can only read it by visiting a secure location in the Capitol, cannot take notes with them, and can only be accompanied by staffers with security clearances. Few Members have bothered to read the agreement, even as they prepare to give President Obama enormous power to finish it.

Two Members who have read it are Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), and they were alarmed by the contents. In a joint statement, Sen. Sessions and Rep. Hunter slam the Obama administration for its secrecy. They reveal that the TPP would create a new commission that could issue regulations binding member nations:

Greenpeace protesters, not strangers to publicity stunts, hang with a banner from a construction crane on 23rd street near the State Department on April 27, 2009 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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As several business owners in North Carolina recently found out, “green” nonprofits aren’t always forthcoming about their agendas. Despite receiving tens of millions of dollars from billionaires like Tom Steyer and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, many of these environmental groups have taken to desperate measures to attract support from the general public for their unpopular agendas.

Recently, investigative journalists at the Asheville Citizen-Times and National Review revealed that the Sierra Club had allegedly added signatories to a petition demanding that Duke Energy cease the operations of one of its coal-fired power plants in Asheville, North Carolina. Of the 80 businesses listed on the petition, at least six had never agreed to lend their support to the Sierra Club at all, several claimed to be victims of bait-and-switch, strong-arming tactics and one didn’t even exist.

Through a procedure called civil asset forfeiture, local, state and federal law enforcement officials have the power to seize property and money if it’s suspected of being related to a crime. In many cases, though, the property owner is never charged with a crime, and a trend has emerged of local and state law enforcement using civil asset forfeiture to raise additional money.

The issue is gaining traction at the state level, as state legislatures have begun to tackle reforms. Additionally, following policy changes at the Department of Justice and the introduction of legislation called the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR), Congress is turning to address civil asset forfeiture.

Here’s what you need to know about civil asset forfeiture and what experts are saying Congress needs to do to protect the rights of innocent property owners.

A stop sign stands outside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) building on May 24, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Martha’s Vineyard is a surprising venue for a gathering of the Republican Attorneys General Association (or “RAGA,” as it’s affectionately known), but given the ubiquity of political surveillance these days, perhaps a geographical head fake is good operational security.

Not that a DNC tracker would have been surprised by much they heard there — except perhaps the heartfelt tribute offered to a Democratic state attorney general, the late Beau Biden, offered by another citizen-soldier state attorney general, South Carolina’s Alan Wilson.

As the Texas Legislature finished its 2015 session, lawmakers from the Lone Star State have once again approved a tax relief measure that will only add to the Texas reputation as a state friendly to business and poised for economic growth. Lawmakers from the state House and Senate considered various options for tax relief packages lawmakers would adopt this year, and the final product is a nearly $3.8 billion tax reduction over the next two years.